Three-dimensional confocal microscope

Abstract

This invention realizes a three-dimensional confocal microscope in which mechanical vibrations do not occur in the scanning unit for scanning in the direction of optical axis, and in which scanning in the direction of optical axis can be carried out at a high speed. This invention has the following features. In the confocal microscope having a confocal scanner attached to an optical microscope and constructed to enable acquisition of an image of a sample as a confocal image by the confocal scanner, a variable-focus lens of surface tension control type having no moving part is uses as the field lens.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.